


The Truth Is Out There

by msgilliana



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Christmas fic, F/M, Family Fluff, is Santa real?, so we know it’s happy!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:54:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25526245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/msgilliana/pseuds/msgilliana
Summary: Two days before Christmas 2006, and Mulder wants to reveal the truth about the fat man in red to his and Scully’s five-year-old son William. Scully is less than pleased with the idea, but William finds out anyway. Although it’s not in the way they planned.
Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Comments: 1
Kudos: 22





	The Truth Is Out There

**Author's Note:**

> A HUGE thank you to Nicole/OnlyTheInevitable for being my beta! Thank you SO much! Also s/o to Zoë, for speaking this idea into existence!

December 23, 2006

Christmastime at the Scully-Mulder household was a rather eventful affair. Being able to celebrate it together with their son William and a new addition on the way made it even more exciting. What was shocking, though, was the persistence of Scully to insist on telling William that Santa was real. Mulder never really understood the whole “big fat man in red comes down your chimney and puts presents under the tree” hype, but he had been a reluctant participant. Until now. For five Christmases, he had gone along with Scully and hidden the presents in their closet. Now, as he was hauling a rather large gift, some type of Nerf gun toy, up the stairs into their bedroom, he was questioning the plausibility of continuing the story of Santa.

Especially with a child on the way, he wasn’t sure how they were going to keep it up. If this child took after Scully and didn’t believe from the start, they’d be fine, but what if this child took after Mulder? Believing in every mythical creature associated with a holiday? He set the gift down behind a rack of shirts and plopped down on the bed, Scully waddling into their bedroom.

“I just got William to go to sleep. Were you able to get the presents up okay?”

“It’s in the closet.” Mulder pointed in its general direction. “Scully, how much longer?” he asked, raising his upper body and putting his weight on his forearms.

She slowly sat down on the bed and rubbed her rather large stomach. “Hmm?”

“How much longer are we going to keep this up?”

“Keep what up?” she asked.

“This!” Mulder made a general hand gesture. “Telling him Santa’s real.”

“Mulder, you know it adds to the joy of Christmas. The innocence only lasts for so long, I want to enjoy it while we can.”

“Why did we even tell him about Santa in the first place?”

“Mulder…”

“No, I want to know. I don’t think we should keep feeding into the narrative and I don’t know how much longer I can sneak presents in. It’s just not realistic, Scully. Plus, I don’t really feel like lying to our child anymore.”

“You’re one to talk, Mulder,” Scully scoffed.

He chose to ignore her comment. “Since when did you, the so-called ‘realist’ insist on telling our son about Santa and ‘the believer’ not want to?”

“Mulder, our son is only five years old. Let him enjoy the magic of Christmas for a few more years, okay? I do plan on telling him, just not right now.”

“Please don’t tell me you plan on telling this one about Santa too,” Mulder gestured to Scully’s stomach. “I don’t know if I could handle it.”

“Mulder, I know you haven’t had the best experience around this time of year, but please don’t ruin it for William,” Scully pleaded.

Mulder shifted so his body was facing Scully. “I’m not ruining anything, Scully. Santa isn’t real. If we hadn’t told him he was in the first place, it would’ve been much easier. How much longer do you plan on hiding gifts in the closet? How much longer until William hears it from a kid at school and is upset with us because we fed him a lie?” Mulder was growing more frustrated with every sentence, While he knew it was counterproductive to argue with Scully, especially while pregnant, he wanted to spare his son the humiliation of finding out the hard way.

“Mulder, stop,” Scully demanded gently. “He is _five_. Seven? Eight? I understand telling him then. But Mulder, our son is in kindergarten. He is still in that stage where he believes in things like Santa and the Easter bunny, and it adds to the excitement and wonder. Let him stay there for just a bit longer.”

“He shouldn’t be there in the first place, Scully. I’m trying to save him from learning Santa’s not real the hard way. Do you want to console him when he eventually finds out? Because I don’t. If we had just not told him in the first place-”

Scully held up a hand to him. “Mulder, I wanted our son to have the universal experience of Santa or some semblance of him. I just want him to have as normal a childhood as possible.” Scully put her hand down and sighed. “I don’t want to argue, but you’re making me very frustrated right now.”

They were so engrossed in their conversation, the pitter-patter of small feet approaching their bedroom went unheard.

“I’m just trying-”

“I know. You’re just trying to protect him, but, Mulder, he’s a child. Let him believe.” Scully wipes away tears that threatened to escape.

“Well, when he finds out that Santa’s not real, he didn’t hear it from me. He’s pure fiction, and the earlier he learns that, the better.”

Suddenly the door creaked open and William poked his head in.

“Santa’s not real?” he asked tearfully.

Mulder grimaced and scratched the back of his head, looking to Scully for help. Well, that could’ve gone better. Now he felt even more like shit. This wasn’t how he wanted their son to find out. She looked at him, rolled her eyes, and sighed.

“Oh, sweetie. Come here.” Scully held out her arms and William slowly walked to her. With all the strength she could muster, she hoisted him up into her nonexistent lap and brushed hair away from his face.

“I couldn’t sleep and heard you fighting,” William admitted.

“Buddy, we weren’t fighting, we were just,” Mulder looked at Scully, who was glaring at him as if to say _this is your fault_ , “having a conversation.”

Tears had started to fall down William’s cheeks. “Then how come you said Santa wasn’t real?”

Damn it. Damn all of it. “Wel, uh-”

“I’m sorry sweetie,” Scully interrupted him, “We were going to wait until you were older.”

“So he’s not real?”

Scully shook her head. “I’m sorry.”

William clung to Scully and whimpered, tears continuing to fall.

“Shh, shh. It’s okay.” Scully held William and slowly rocked him.

‘Does that mean I won’t get presents this year?” William asked innocently.

“Oh, baby, you’ll still get presents. Mommy and daddy buy them,” Scully explained.

William sniffed and wiped his nose with his pajama sleeve.

“Hey, we’ll still make gingerbread houses and watch Christmas movies and hang stockings,” Mulder tried to lighten the situation. “Aaaannndd I’ll still let you have some cookie dough when we make cookies while mommy’s not looking,” he whispered, tickling William’s nose while Scully chuckled. “And we’ll even get to drive around and look at all the Christmas lights, okay?”

That seemed to help William calm down. “Okay. I feel better.”

“We’re sorry you found out this way, baby,” Scully apologized.

“It’s okay, mommy. I still love you and daddy.”

Scully felt her heart grow three sizes and made a face at Mulder as if to say “awwww!” She rocked him until she felt his heartbeat slow. Gently, she rose from the bed carrying William to his room to tuck him in.

Mulder changed into his pajamas while he waited for Scully to come back. Hearing the door close, he brushed his teeth while Scully came into the bathroom and also changed. Later, they settled in for the night, Scully laying on her side with Mulder spooning her from behind cradling her belly.

“Well, that went better than I thought it would,” Mulder admitted after a while.

“Hmm,” she said tiredly.

Mulder kissed Scully’s cheek and nuzzled her neck. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just tired. Growing a human is pretty exhausting.”

“Speaking of which, you’re sure you’re ready to do that again?” Mulders asked teasingly.

“Mulder,” Scully warned.

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop. Hey, look, it’s midnight. It’s officially Christmas Eve.” Mulder places a hand over Scully’s growing belly. “I love you, Scully.”

“I love you too, Mulder.”


End file.
